Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
You harvest lettuce for an hour. $300 in revenue. Great, right? But you also spent 30 minutes planting, an hour weeding, an hour washing and packing. That's 3.5 hours total — $86 per hour, not $300.
This video breaks down the one calculation that actually predicts farm profit: revenue per labor hour across the full crop lifecycle — not just harvest. Using data from Johnny's Seeds, Iowa State research, and farmers
I've interviewed over the past decade, it walks through five ways farmers miscalculate crop profitability and the real math behind which crops deserve more space.
The numbers: salad mix pays roughly $252/hr real rate. Head lettuce: $120/hr. Summer squash: $48/hr. Shifting 20% of space from a $50/hr crop to a $250/hr crop can mean $30,000 more in revenue over a thousand hours — same work, smarter allocation.
Price per pound lies. Revenue per hour worked tells the truth.
➡️ Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at shop.moderngrower.co
🎥 Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! 🌿
Follow Modern Grower:
➡️ Instagram: instagram.com/moderngrowerpro
➡️ Instagram: instagram.com/moderngrowerco
Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:
🔊 Carrot Cashflow: bit.ly/carrotcashflow
🔊 Farm Small Farm Smart: bit.ly/farmsmallfarmsmart
🔊 Farm Small Farm Smart Daily: bit.ly/farmsmallfarmsmartdaily
🔊The Growing Microgreens Podcast: bit.ly/thegrowingmicrogreenspodcast
🔊The Urban Farmer Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTd1FPZ7J8xS3ebyyIxmBqp1pl2h87RpU
🔊The Rookie Farmer Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTd1FPZ7J8xRJ0O4mAIdgX94QvXTI0ZZ7
🔊In Search of Soil Podcast: youtube.com/insearchofsoil
Check out Diego's books:
📖 Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon: amzn.to/4hoqUx6
📖 Ready Farmer One on Amazon: amzn.to/42FjrVX
#MarketGardening, #FarmBusiness, #CropSelection, #FarmProfitability, #MarketGarden, #SmallFarm, #FarmMath, #RevenuePerHour, #MarketFarmer, #ModernGrower, #FarmSmart, #CropPlanning, #GrowForProfit, #FarmingBusiness, #SmallFarmBusiness, #farmsmallfarmsmart
0:00 — $1,200/hr Sounds Great — Until You Count Washing
1:00 — #5: You're Only Counting Half Your Time
3:30 — #4: Price Per Pound Lies (Salad Mix vs. Squash vs. Cherry Tomatoes)
6:00 — #3: The Daily Harvest Trap (Squash vs. Lettuce Overhead)
7:30 — #2: Washing Kills Your Hourly Rate
10:00 — #1: Revenue Per Labor Hour — The Only Number That Matters
11:30 — The $30,000 Shift: Moving 20% of Space From Worst to Best
13:00 — How to Calculate Your Real Rate on Any Crop
**** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
You harvest lettuce for an hour. $300 in revenue. Great, right? But you also spent 30 minutes planting, an hour weeding, an hour washing and packing. That's 3.5 hours total — $86 per hour, not $300.
This video breaks down the one calculation that actually predicts farm profit: revenue per labor hour across the full crop lifecycle — not just harvest. Using data from Johnny's Seeds, Iowa State research, and farmers
I've interviewed over the past decade, it walks through five ways farmers miscalculate crop profitability and the real math behind which crops deserve more space.
The numbers: salad mix pays roughly $252/hr real rate. Head lettuce: $120/hr. Summer squash: $48/hr. Shifting 20% of space from a $50/hr crop to a $250/hr crop can mean $30,000 more in revenue over a thousand hours — same work, smarter allocation.
Price per pound lies. Revenue per hour worked tells the truth.
➡️ Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at shop.moderngrower.co
🎥 Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! 🌿
Follow Modern Grower:
➡️ Instagram: instagram.com/moderngrowerpro
➡️ Instagram: instagram.com/moderngrowerco
Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:
🔊 Carrot Cashflow: bit.ly/carrotcashflow
🔊 Farm Small Farm Smart: bit.ly/farmsmallfarmsmart
🔊 Farm Small Farm Smart Daily: bit.ly/farmsmallfarmsmartdaily
🔊The Growing Microgreens Podcast: bit.ly/thegrowingmicrogreenspodcast
🔊The Urban Farmer Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTd1FPZ7J8xS3ebyyIxmBqp1pl2h87RpU
🔊The Rookie Farmer Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTd1FPZ7J8xRJ0O4mAIdgX94QvXTI0ZZ7
🔊In Search of Soil Podcast: youtube.com/insearchofsoil
Check out Diego's books:
📖 Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon: amzn.to/4hoqUx6
📖 Ready Farmer One on Amazon: amzn.to/42FjrVX
#MarketGardening, #FarmBusiness, #CropSelection, #FarmProfitability, #MarketGarden, #SmallFarm, #FarmMath, #RevenuePerHour, #MarketFarmer, #ModernGrower, #FarmSmart, #CropPlanning, #GrowForProfit, #FarmingBusiness, #SmallFarmBusiness, #farmsmallfarmsmart
0:00 — $1,200/hr Sounds Great — Until You Count Washing
1:00 — #5: You're Only Counting Half Your Time
3:30 — #4: Price Per Pound Lies (Salad Mix vs. Squash vs. Cherry Tomatoes)
6:00 — #3: The Daily Harvest Trap (Squash vs. Lettuce Overhead)
7:30 — #2: Washing Kills Your Hourly Rate
10:00 — #1: Revenue Per Labor Hour — The Only Number That Matters
11:30 — The $30,000 Shift: Moving 20% of Space From Worst to Best
13:00 — How to Calculate Your Real Rate on Any Crop
**** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
